train whistles into wee hours tuesday

[dutchelm]

The train whistles blew all night long on monday evening and well into tuesday morning. it ridiculous – long drawn out whistles, some repeated whistles. is there a reasonableness in it? isn’t there a limit to traffic at night while people are trying to sleep? we have recently moved to the belvidere neighborhood and had no clue about the trains. is the noise related to ramp up in steel plant work? is there noise year-round? these things are important at 2 and 3 in the morning. otherwise, we love our new neighborhood…

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[johnnyblegs]

Right when I say you post title I assumed you were new to the neighborhood. I hear the trains every night, not too loud by my house. I actually love them. Adds to the ambiance of this side of West Seattle. I live south, just down the hill from you, moved here a little over 4 years ago, and yes – they are year round. I’m pretty sure the train horns are from terminal 5 just north of the west end of the bridge.

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[bebecat]

I grew up listening to the industrial area all night long. Pigeon Hill. Even 44-50 years ago work was happening on Harbor Island all night long. You will get use to it or put on soft noise to drown it out.

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[austin]

lol, welcome to west seattle..

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[pam]

I love listening to the trains….. you will learn to find it comforting along with ferry and other ship horns and ships loading from Harbor Island.

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[celeste17]

Welcome to West Seattle. Yes the trains are year round and yes you will get use to them. I think right now with the days and nights being hot and the air not moving much the sounds are probably a little louder then normal. I live up the hill and hear them all the time and find them soothing. I promise you will get use to them and not even notice them soon.

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[villagegreen]

I’ve lived just south and slightly east of the Belvidere neighborhood (a block from Budha Ruksa) for 4 years now and, yes, you’ll get used to the constant background noise of the trains and ships. Imagine that, there’s actually real industry going on in our tech oriented city!

However, occasionally, I am still amazed at the loudness and length of some of the train horns late at night. It’s definitely not every night, but every so often I’ll wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning (with the windows open) and be amazed at how loud they are (and prolonged). I don’t know what it is (the winds or warm air), but they’re so loud sometimes that I can’t fall back asleep. The length and decibels seem a little extreme at that time of night, but at least most of the time I’m asleep during these episodes. :) It’s definitely a minor annoyance, far outweighed by the awesomeness of the neighborhood!

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[Ken]

There are several areas of west seattle that have clear sounds of the river and train traffic due to geologic and weather features. Some quite far away from the river or the tracks. I even get a clear sound of the hydroplanes on lake washington when the wind is right. We get used to them, grow to love them or ya flee.

good luck.

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[catlady]

I love to hear the train whistles in the wee hours and the fog horns from the ferries. Yes, you will get used to them, and hopefully grow to appreciate them. I even think the train whistle is somewhat soothing, although I might be a little farther up the hill from you guys :o)

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[KBear]

It’s the sound of people at work. A lot of jobs depend on those trains.

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[dutchelm]

i was shocked by so many replies to my lament about sleepless nights and the train whistles. I loved all of them. what a nice welcome. thank you so much!

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[JayDee]

I’d hate to be considered ignorant after 14 years in the area, but what are the admittedly approximate borders of “Belvidere”? Are we talking: “North Admiral, except not quite north, but between Admiral and Fauntelroy”?

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I live near what some quaintly call “upper Alki” (and find the distinction amusing). And yes, I can hear the trains, fainter I am sure, but which I still find reassuring (that I live in a real living breathing city still).

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[GoGo]

We live on Pigeon Point (right on the northwest end) and we can really hear the trains (and the steel plant, which sometimes makes noises like dying dinosaurs). I don’t mind it though, reminds me of when I was a kid spending the night at my grandma’s house, you could hear train whistles there too.

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[JanS]

dutchelm…don’t be shocked…welcome to the neighborhood :)

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